News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

A death defying biker who weaved 'like an utter maniac' through traffic to complete the journey between Antrim and Ballymena in just four minutes has threatened to beat his time - because on his first run the road was wet.?Incredibly the mystery racer filmed his journey at breakneck speeds along the A26, smugly uploading it on to YouTube for the world to see.?The busy stretch between Dunsilly roundabout and its counterpart heralding the arrival at the City of the Seven Towers is eight miles long and usually takes a careful motorist around 10 minutes to travel.?But sitting astride his motorbike, which he brags he has customized to hit a top speed of 160mph, 'BigJohn813' blazed along it in just four minutes - clocking up an average speed of 120mph in the process.
(Source: Antrim Guardian)

Armagh

A man suffered serious facial injuries after he was ‘glassed’ in an unprovoked attack in Newry city centre last weekend. The incident occurred sometime between 10.30pm and 11.00pm last Sunday night at a licensed premises on Merchants Quay. Police said a man attacked the victim with a glass bottle, causing deep lacerations to the left side of his head. The assailant is described as being aged in his 40's and of a stocky build with ginger hair and freckles or spots on his face. He was wearing a Glasgow Celtic jersey and a pair of light blue jeans.
(Source: Crossexmainer.co.uk)

Carlow

Touching tributes to a life lost too so on have been posted by friends on a social networking site after a young Carlow man tragically took his own life last week.??Twenty-one-year-old Mark Sheehy was found in the grounds of Presentation College, Carlow last Wednesday, leaving his loving mother Angela, along with family and friends, devastated at his untimely death.??Mark was an only child, originally from the Leighlinbridge area but lived in John Sweeney Park in Carlow town for many years.
(Source: The Carlow Nationalist)
Cavan

If ever there was living proof of how organ donation can transform a life, the smiling face of little Lorna Tierney said it all as the sun poured down in Greaghagivney, Stradone last month. Lorna was also looking forward to meeting Westlife with her sister Nicola at their concert in Dublin. The Tierney family, Larry and Kathleen and their daughter, Nicola, spoke in glowing terms about how their youngest member was given back an active life, courtesy of a kidney transplant.

Lorna's mother Kathleen explained that when Lorna was eight, she was drinking fluids excessively. "She was always thirsty and always wanted more water," she said. Larry said it was like a miracle that a kidney became available, just when Kathleen was on the verge of donating one of hers.
(Source: Anglo Celt)

Clare

Same-sex couples in Clare cannot participate in an ­official civil partnership ceremony in a registry office in the county. The Mid-West Health Service Executive (HSE) has received six enquires from Clare people who wish to engage in a civil partnership, three men and three women. Three of these, two women and one man, have served notice of their intentions to the HSE since January.?However, Superintendent Registrar Geraldine McCarthy confirmed they cannot have this ceremony in a Clare registry office because the necessary space isn’t available, despite a number of unsuccessful attempts to secure another building.?Instead, same-sex couples have to make an application to have their ceremony conducted in a particular venue, which has to be subsequently assessed by HSE staff and must adhere to a standard set of criteria.
(Source: The Clare Champion)
Cork

Cork's finest singing trio, Crystal Swing (made famous when Ellen Degeneres had them on her show), hit the top of the You Tube charts again last week with a skit of the rock classic ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. The East Cork family continue their inexorable rise with the new viral produced by RTÉ’s Republic of Telly, which will also raise money for the Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin. Last week, the Burkes’ biker zombie-fest is already tipped to be a top tune, with its You Tube video hits gathering momentum, with almost 39,000 hits last Wednesday afternoon. According to an RTÉ spokesperson, the hilarious new video was produced by the Republic of Telly, and “features the normally squeaky clean family taking on a biker gang after they kidnap Dervla and Mary.”
Source: (Cork Independent)

Derry

Two notorious paedophile brothers who abused children over a 30 year period are to be housed in newly refurbished accommodation just yards from a Derry school, the ‘Journal’ has learned. James and Owen Roe McDermott, from Donagh in County Fermanagh, were two of four brothers involved in what one judge described as a “tidal wave of abuse”. Last year, the two were deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and returned to their home village. However, after village residents protested at their return, they voluntarily agreed to be admitted to Lakeview Hospital in Derry for treatment.
(Source: Derry Journal)